Traina building team chemistry with Merrillville Pirates

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Joe Traina has three main points of emphasis as the new head baseball coach at alma mater Merrillville (Ind.) High School — commitment, playing together and team chemistry.
“We’re making sure we’re there everyday,” says Traina, who was born in Merrillville, graduated from MHS in 2013 and has been teaching and coaching in the school system since 2017-18. “We were not weightlifting and conditioning very much. We have a strength and conditioning coach at Merrillville now (Brady Willard) so they can lift even when I’m not around.”
There is a text group chat that keeps the team communicating and Traina emphasizes staying in constant touch with parents.
Team chemistry is built through activities that require athletes coordinating to accomplish a goal.
Paul Wirtz was Pirates head coach when Traina joined the staff. Wirtz instituted “Animal Kingdom” workouts where there were stations for throwing, baserunning, conditioning etc., and teamwork was necessary.
Traina has had his athletes doing the same.
“They have to work step by step together to accomplish the goal,” says Traina. “That’s going make us a much stronger team.”
Merrillville (enrollment around 2,100) is a member of the Duneland Athletic Conference (with Chesterton, Crown Point, Lake Central, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage and Valparaiso).
The Pirates are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping in 2023 with East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Hobart, Lake Central and Munster. Merrillville has won 13 sectional crowns — the last in 2001. The Pirates were state runner-up in 1996.
Traina, who has taught at Merrillville Intermediate, Clifford Pierce Middle School and now Biology for freshmen at Merrillville High, was a junior varsity assistant to Connor Buxton then a varsity assistant when Buxton became head coach at Merrillville.
When Buxton stepped away Traina became head coach over the summer.
“It’s been a career goal to be the head of a program,” says Traina, 28. “I want to turn things around.”
The Pirates went 8-15 overall and 3-9 in the DAC in 2022.
Traina’s coaching staff counts Jose Carbajol as varsity assistant, Terrance Grayson as JV head coach and Juan Maldonado as JV assistant.
Merrillville started middle school baseball workouts at Bill Metcalf Field in July and games were played in the fall with Traina as head coach. High school players helped out.
“They were like bench coaches,” says Traina.
The first game was at Hanover Central, where Wirtz was serving as middle school coach.
Traina says the plan is for middle school baseball to continue as a fall sport.
Noting that Merrillville Little League no longer exists, Traina wants to work his way down the youth baseball ladder while building a feeder system for his program.
“We want to make sure kids have the opportunity to be exposed to the sport and get better,” says Traina. “We want to put a stop to getting pushed further behind (in development).”
Traina expects to have a young squad in 2023 with freshmen on the varsity.
Among the older players with college baseball aspirations are seniors Colin Early and Robert Richardson, who played both play varsity as freshmen, and junior Josh Magallon.
Pirates moving on to the college diamond since Traina has been coaching include Class of 2018’s Max Govert (Indiana University South Bend), Class of 2019’s Maldonado (Indiana Tech), Brandon Lucero (Earlham College) and Sven Strom (Saint Xavier University) and Class of 2021’s Dylan Coty (junior college).
Traina’s summer maintenance job includes taking care of the baseball field, where recent projects have included fixing the bullpens, adding dirt to mounds, turf to plate areas and dugout racks.
Traina played at Merrillville for Mark Schellinger.
“He’s one of the my favorite teachers and coaches,” says Traina of Schellinger. “When I got this job he reached out to offer any help I need. That meant a lot coming from a guy who had my back for four years here.”
He played at Merrillville Little League then travel ball for the Dave Griffin-led Indiana Playmakers then an Indianapolis-based team called the Indiana Irish. His parents — Frank Sr., and Michele — saw that he was shuttled two hours to Indy every week so he could have a new baseball experience and meet new people.
“I can’t thank them enough,” says Joe, the youngest of three children.
Frank Traina Sr., is retired from Siemens as an electronic engineer. Michele Traina is a school nurse secretary.
Ashley (Traina) Kendera (Merrillville Class of 2006) played softball for the Pirates, graduated from Ball State and now works as a page designer for The Times of Northwest Indiana. Her husband, Jason Kendera, is a former Merrillville girls soccer coach.
Frank Traina Jr., (Merrillville Class of 2010) played soccer and was a baseball manager for the Pirates during the Schellinger era. He now works as a bank teller.
After high school, Joe Traina went to Ball State University where he was a Sport Administration major and Coaching minor.
“I always wanted to go down the athletic director route,” says Traina, who got transition to teaching credentials through Calumet College of Saint Joseph. “Once I was in the classroom I decided to stick with teaching.”
He is also the head eighth grade boys basketball coach at Clifford Pierce.

Joe Traina. (Merrillville High School Photo)

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McClain takes opportunity at Indianapolis North Central

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Andy McClain has gotten a look at his prospects as the new head baseball coach at North Central High School in Indianapolis and he likes the Panthers chances to make noise on the diamond in 2023.
“It’s a big school and a good program,” says McClain, who comes to Washington Township after four years at Lawrence Central. “We’ve got hungry kids. We’re setting high standards. I’m excited about it.
“It’s a good opportunity.”
North Central (enrollment around 3,875) is a member of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (with Ben Davis, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, Pike and Warren Central).
MIC teams play home-and-home series on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The Panthers are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping in 2023 with Ben Davis, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North and Pike. North Central has won 11 sectional titles — the last in 2006.
“We play a competitive schedule,” says McClain. “The MIC and (Marion) County will help us make a run in the state tournament.”
The fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period saw 40 to 50 North Central players participate in each session, allowing for scrimmaging.
“It was different,” says McClain. “I’ve never had that. We were able to get a lot of things done. We feel like we’re in a good place from some of the things we were able to install in the fall.
“There will be a lot of competition for positions. If the goal is to get them to compete you’re going to have that in your practice environment. That’s only going to make them better.”
About the same number of athletes have begun weight room workouts and the next Limited Contact Period comes Dec. 5-Feb. 4. That’s where McClain will continue to emphasize energy, effort and execution.
McClain plans to field three teams — varsity, junior varsity and C-team. He said he could have as many as 15 seniors — 10 with varsity experience.
The Panthers went 14-9-1 in 2022. Jack Ferguson (Class of 2023) hit .412 and Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe (Class of 2024) .405. On the mound, Tristan Wilson (Class of 2025) won four games and Will Kaiser (Class of 2023) three.
Besides McClain, the Panthers varsity coaching staff features Andrew Dutkanych III, Scott King and Gabe Hoffman. Dutkanych is the pitching coach. King returns to the staff. Hoffman pitched at Pike.
Panther Park — North Central’s home field — recently was leveled and is scheduled to host sectional in the spring.
Feeding the Panthers are baseball programs as three at three middle schools — Eastwood, Northview and Westlane.
McClain, a 1987 graduate of Martinsville (Ind.) High School, where he played for and coached with Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Bill Tutterow, has been a head coach at five other Indiana high schools — LaVille, Indianapolis Arlington, Brebeuf Jesuit, Norwell and Lawrence Central. Brebeuf was the 2012 Class 3A state runner-up and Norwell the 2013 3A state champion.
McClain is a longtime emcee at the IHSBCA State Clinic in January.
Since moving back to Indianapolis, McClain has coached travel ball in the summer for the Indiana Bulls. The 2023 season will be his fifth. He will lead the 15U Grey. John Zangrilli is an assistant and his son John Zangrilli (Carmel Class of 2026) his on the team.
McClain has coached Nevan Tutterow (Franklin Central Class of 2025, grandson of Bill and son of Bryant) on the Bulls.
The 2023-23 year marks McClain’s 33rd in education and a Science teacher at North Central.
“The Biology department along has 10 people in it,” says McClain of the enormity of North Central.
Daughter MacKenzie McClain lives in Victor, N.Y., and is scheduled to be married next summer.

Andy McClain.

Lake Central alum Tomasic’s diamond path takes twists, turns

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Circumstances have caused Conner Tomasic to build his baseball and academic careers in unique ways. 
The 2018 graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., went to Purdue University in West Lafayette for two seasons (2019 and 2020), transferred to South Suburban College in South Holland, Ill., for one (2021) and then came back to the Big Ten with Michigan State University (2022).
The right-handed pitcher has another year of college eligibility, but his next move might be as an independent pro.
This fall, Tomasic is a commuter student at Purdue Northwest in Hammond, Ind., while staying prepared for his diamond future. His major is Construction Engineering and Management Technology.
Tomasic entered college as a Kinesiology major. Having had Tommy John surgery in high school he had worked with plenty of physical therapists. A Biology course at Purdue made him decide that was not the path for him. He followed some teammates and went with construction.
“I like to see things in front of me and work with my hands,” says Tomasic. “It felt like a teamwork class. I felt comfortable with it.
“You learned how to deal with people and work a job site.
An associate degree was earned at South Suburban, a two-year school. But Tomasic also faced a bit of a curve. He had to switch his major at Michigan State to Psychology to stay eligible.
A 6-foot-1, 185-pounder, Tomasic took the mound 17 times (nine as a starter) for head coach Jake Boss Jr.’s MSU Spartans. He went 4-4 with a 5.40 earned run average, 41 strikeouts and 26 walks in 65 innings.
Because of the work load, Tomasic did not play summer ball, focusing on strength training. In July, he began traveling from Schererville, Ind., to PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind., to work with Director of Player Development/Pitching Anthony Gomez. The two have known each other since Tomasic — who turned 23 in August — was an eighth or ninth grader and Gomez was coaching in northwest Indiana.
“We’ve always been close,” says Tomasic of Gomez. “It’s nice to work with someone who’s seen me grow up and develop.
“He knows my delivery almost as well as I do. He knows what I need at the end of the day.”
His PNW classes meet Monday through Thursday then Tomasic heads to central Indiana for workouts later that day or on Friday before returning to The Region.
Tomasic has three pitches — a four-seam fastball, slider and change-up.
His four-seamer was clocked at 92.9 mph this summer at 93 mph at South Suburban.
His slider — often thrown between 77 to 79 mph — has evolved.
“When I first started throwing it, it was a ‘gyro,’ says Tomasic of the pitch’s movement. “Now it’s getting mike more a ‘bullet’ slider. You can see the dot (as it rotates).
“My change-up, some people think it’s a splitter. It depends on what it’s doing that day. The majority of the time it’s going to sink and have arm-side run. But sometimes it dives straight down.”
Tomasic describes his delivery as “a little funky.”
The arm angle is about mid-three quarter overhand. But the delivery comes low.
“It’s something (opposing batters) don’t see that often,” says Tomasic. “My fastball plays up in the zone so it seems fast than it is.”
Tomasic sees determination and focus as two of his best athletic qualities.
“I’m a guy who know how to separate his sport from his daily life,” says Tomasic. “If I have a bad, I flush it. If I have a good day, I forget about it quick.
“You’ve got the day ahead of you in baseball.”
Born in Hammond and raised in Schererville, Conner is the oldest of Jerry and Dena Tomasic’s two children. Jennifer Tomasic (Lake Central Class of 2021) played basketball at Indiana University Northwest in Gary and Governors State University (University Park, Ill.).
Jerry Tomasic was born in Yugoslavia before that country split and moved to the U.S. around 2. He played baseball but not past junior high and went on to play basketball at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa.
Dena Tomasic works at Cheers Food & Drink in Munster, Ind.
Conner played for the Dyer team that finished runner-up to eventual Little League World Series qualifier New Castle in 2012.
When he was ready for a travel ball transition outside northwest Indiana at 15 to 16 he was unable to play for Top Tier because of his injured elbow.
Tomasic shined as a two-way player at Lake Central and got to swing the bat for head coaches Mark Wasikowski and Greg Goff at Purdue and Steve Ruzich at South Suburban.
As a three-year letterwinner and four-time scholar-athlete at LC, he played for head coaches Jeff Sandor and Mike Swartzentruber.
The Indians won sectional titles in baseball and basketball in 2018 and Tomasic played a part while earning LCHS Pride, Hustle and Desire in both sports. He also earned 2018 Perfect Game All-American and All-Region Team honors.
He was the Roger Maris MVP in leading Team Serbia to the title in the 2018 International Baseball Challenge Tournament in Whiting, Ind.
In two seasons at Purdue, he hit .250 (3-of-12) with a triple in three runs batted and made one putout and five assists in the field. He pitched in 19 games (all in relief) with an 0-1 record, 4.30 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 11 walks in 25 1/3 innings.
At South Suburban, the pitcher/middle infielder was an National Junior College Athletic Association all-region selection as he hit .392 with 60 hits, including eighth home runs, three triples and 12 doubles with 49 RBIs, 28 walks and 15 stolen bases. On the bump, he was 6-1 with a 4.64 ERA, 81 strikeouts and 22 walks in 64 innings.
Tomasic played for the Northwoods League’s Bismarck (N.D.) Larks and Midwest Collegiate League’s (now Northern League’s) Northwest Indiana Oilmen in the summers of 2019 and 2020.
Along the way the focus became pitching rather than two-way player.
“I think I’m athletic enough,” says Tomasic. “I can pull it off.”

Conner Tomasic. (Michigan State University)

Conner Tomasic. (Michigan State University)

Conner Tomasic. (Michigan State University)

New Snider head coach Clinkenbeard sees diamond as a place to learn about more than baseball

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Josh Clinkenbeard knows the life lessons that can be learned through athetics.
He absorbed them as a baseball and football player at Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider High School and continues to make it a focus as he has moved up from Panthers assistant to baseball head coach at his alma mater in 2022.
“One of the biggest messages we are trying to share with our guys is about being a good community member,” says Snider Class of 1999’s Clinkenbeard, a former outfielder, first baseman and pitcher for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Andy Owen (Marc Skelton and Bruce Meyer were assistants; Skelton became head coach after Owen and both Skelton and Meyer retired from baseball coaching after 2021) and tight end for Indiana Football Hall of Famer Russ Isaacs. “As individuals, we will always be a part of some collective group.
“We remind ourselves to be good teammates. We also try to relate our sport to real life like dealing with adversity and working with others, for example.”
Clinkenbeard recalls lessons learned from Owen and company.
“One of the biggest things I remember that still rings true with me is how to handle physical mistakes versus mental mistakes as a coach,” says Clinkenbeard. “Dealing with the mental side of sports can be taught and modeled in practice.”
Snider (enrollment around 1,900) is a member of the Summit Athletic Conference (with Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne South Side and Fort Wayne Wayne).
SAC teams play home-and-series in the same week against conference opponents.
The Panthers are in an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Carroll, DeKalb (host), East Noble and Northrop. Snider has won 11 sectional titles — the last in 2017. Clinkenbeard was part of that coaching staff.
With 31 players in 2022 for varsity and junior varsity squads, Clinkenbeard is assisted by Payton Bieker, Brandon Phelps, Chase Phelps, Tim McCrady and Jimmy Cunningham.
All but Cunningham are Snider graduates. Bieker (Class of 2008) played at Purdue University, Brandon Phelps (Class of 2013) and Chase Phelps (Class of 2016) at what is now Purdue Fort Wayne. McCrady (Class of 1983) is the JV head coach. Cunningham is a first-year coach.
The Panthers play on Hawley Field (a diamond four miles east of Snider named for former athletic director Michael Hawley who helped plan and build the complex). The facility has been upgraded with irrigation and improved drainage.
“The long-term goal is to have lock rooms on-site with indoor batting cages,” says Clinkenbeard. Snider baseball once played at Carrington Field. When the original was torn down to make room for Memorial Stadium (home of the Fort Wayne Wizards), a new Carrington Field was establish across Coliseum Boulevard. When Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (now PFW) purchsed the land, Snider went looking for a new home field.
“The unique part is that we are not on-site which creates many challenges, but because we are nestled among some housing additions it gives us a feeling of being part of a community.”
A 2003 graduate of Butler University with a degree in Biology with a teaching certificate, Clinkenbeard is in his 18th year as a middle school teacher.
Before a rotator cuff injury ended his career, the first baseman was a walk-on at Butler for head coach Steve Farley.
“Great coach who really showed me the details of the game,” says Clinkenbeard of Farley. “There are many drills we did in college that we incorporate in our team today.”
Jakob Byler (University of Saint Francis) and Trevor Newman (Franklin College) are college commits. Mac Hippenhammer (Class of 2017) went to Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) to play baseball and football.
Josh and wife Krisanne Clinkenbeard have three children — Olivia, Jase and Hayes.

Fort Wayne Snider High School coaches gather around the 2017 IHSAA Class 4A DeKalb Sectional championship trophy. They are (from left): First row — Payton Bieker, Marc Skelton and Tim McCrady; Second row — Rob Hale, Bruce Meyer, Josh Clinkenbeard and Bruce Dohrn.

Wabash catcher Terry likes controlling the game

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Catcher has been Canton Terry’s primary position since he began playing baseball as a boy at Clinton (Ind.) Little League.

He backstopped Babe Ruth League teams in Terre Haute, Ind., and at South Vermillion High School in Clinton, the second of four Terry brothers to playing for father Tim Terry. There’s T.J. (24), Canton (21), Cooper (19) and Easton (15).

Canton’s high school days also saw him catch two travel ball summers each for the Matt Merica-coached Indiana Thunder and Tony Smodilla-coached Indiana Havoc. 

At present, Terry is a lefty-batting catcher/designated hitter at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. The 2020 season was his third for head coach Jake Martin’s Little Giants. 

“The catcher controls the game almost more than the pitcher does,” says Terry. “It comes down to good quality pitch calling. My whole career I’ve always called all the pitches. I take take a lot of pride in it. I take every pitch into consideration and how the batter did the previous at-bat and what pitches are working for (the pitcher).”

Terry has an aptitude for remembering what batters did within a game.

“I see how he handled the last pitch or even how his confidence looks at the plate,” says Terry. “Where they have their hands to load the swing (also comes into play). 

“We definitely don’t give them their cream-of-the-crop pitch, but try to keep them off-balance.”

Sometimes, Terry puts on an auto-shake for the pitcher. He will appear to shake off the sign when he really intends to throw — for instance — a first-pitch fastball.

“Having him do that can throw off the batter,” says Terry.

Like he has for years, Canton also had a brother for a teammate. The 2019-20 school year was Cooper Terry’s freshmen year at Wabash.

“I helped him raise expectations and know what level of play he needs to get to,” says Canton of Cooper. “I also showed him the do’s and don’ts of college. 

“Wabash is a pretty academically-rigorous school. You have to put in hard work.”

Canton’s leadership was not contained to his brother.

“I try to lead by example and not try to cut anything short,” says Terry, who notes that the Little Giants were still getting into the weight room and working out in the winter when coaches were not allowed to be a part of it. “Putting in the hard work it takes to make a championship level team.”

The COVID-19 pandemic halted the 2020 season for Wabash (6-2) in March and Terry started in three games and finished with a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 with 11 putouts and two assists.

During the shutdown, he stayed ready for his next baseball opportunity and is now with the Nighthawks in the 12-team College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. He drives two hours from Clinton twice a week to play for the team that has Anderson University assistant John Becker as head coach.

“It’s been an awesome opportunity to get a lot of playing time and a lot of at-bats,” says Terry. “I’m with a great group of guys. 

“I don’t think we’ve had a single bad game with chemistry.”

Terry played in 14 games with three starts as a Wabash freshmen in 2018. He hit .313 (5-of-16) and drove in five runs while reaching base at a .476 clip. In 2019, he got into 36 games with 29 starts and hit .318 (28-of-88) with one home run, 19 RBIs and a .462 on-base percentage.

All the while he’s enjoyed playing for Martin.

“He’s been a really good coach,” says Terry. “He’s definitely a coach that cares for his players — in and outside of baseball.”

This summer has not all been about the diamond for Terry. There is also an eight-week internship with a Neuroscience professor, doing online research. 

“We’re studying impulsivity for quitting smoking and other addictive behaviors,” says Terry, a Psychology major and Biology minor.

Terry started on a path to be a double major in Physics and Math before taking and enjoying a neuroscience class.

When the Wabash campus was closed, Terry came home and finished his spring courses online. 

It was not easy having to focus that long with five other people in the house, including three rambunctious brothers.

“There are a lot more benefits to in-person (learning),” says Terry. “Wabash has one of the lowest student-to-faculty ratios in the country. Overall, the learning experience is a lot more successful and functional in-person.”

On-campus classes at Wabash is scheduled to resume Aug. 12.

Terry is a 2017 graduate of South Vermillion. He earned 10 varsity letters — four in baseball and two each in cross country, soccer and basketball.

“I’ve been asked a lot about playing for my dad,” says Terry. “It wasn’t weird to me. I was always at high school baseball practices. It’s just the norm. There were no problems or issues.”

But expectations are higher.

“Being a coach’s son, you expected to give the hardest effort and have the most perfection,” says Terry. “That helped me.”

In 2017, senior class president and Fellowship of Christian Athletes leader Terry hit .612 and was named district player of the year, first-team all-state and to the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series. He was also team MVP and team captain for the second straight year. In 2016, he was on the all-Western Indiana Conference team and led the WIC in hitting (.490). He was South Vermillion’s rookie of the year in 2015.

Canton played soccer for Juan Montanez and basketball for Phil Leonard as a freshman and sophomore and ran cross country for Mike Costello as a junior and Kent Musall as a senior.

“I had several concussions in sports so I focused mainly on baseball,” says Terry. “As a catcher I always have a helmet on — on defense or batting.”

Tim Terry, who is also South Vermillion’s athletic director, was the South head coach and T.J. Terry was an assistant for the 2019 IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series in Madison.

Kim Terry, Tim’s wife and the mother of the four boys, is a science teacher at SVHS.

Canton Terry, a 2017 graduate of South Vermillion High School in Clinton, Ind., has played three baseball seasons at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., through 2020 and is now with the Nighthawks in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. (Wabash College Photo)

Learning follows right-hander Lannoo wherever Terre Haute South Vigo, Cornell grad goes

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Peter Lannoo has long embraced a love for learning.

The son of Michael Lannoo (Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine-Terre Haute on the campus of Indiana State University) and (biology researcher) Susan Lannoo, Peter entered math contests and studied Classic Greek and Latin while at Terre Haute South Vigo High School.

After graduating from South Vigo in 2013, Lannoo went to an Ivy League school — Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. — and began his path as a biology major with a concentration on Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and a business minor.

He has gained credentials in research and been part of published findings.

“My four years at Cornell definitely benefitted me,” says Lannoo. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Michael and Susan Lannoo’s only child went to college for academics. But he did not leave baseball behind.

After playing informal club ball his first year at Cornell (2013-14), Lannoo made the Big Red varsity as a pitcher, playing for coaches Bill Walkenbach, Tom Ford and Dan Pepicelli.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander appeared in 33 games (26 in relief) in 2015, 2016 and 2017, juggling his studies and baseball.

“It’s an exercise in time management,” says Lannoo. “It helps in baseball and life in general.

“Time is precious and has to be managed.”

After Lannoo earned all-Ivy League first-team honors with eight saves and a 3.86 ERA in 17 appearances as a senior, the San Francisco Giants were impressed enough to select Lannoo out of Cornell in the 28th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

The big righty made 14 appearances (nine in relief) at Short-Season Class-A Salem-Keizer in 2017 with a 1-3 record and one save, a 4.28 earned run average, 26 strikeouts and 12 walks in 40 innings.

After breaking spring training camp in 2018 with Low Class-A Augusta, spending one game at Double-A Richmond and returning to Augusta, Lannoo is now in the bullpen at High-A San Jose. He has combined for 14 appearances (all in relief) with a 2-3 record, 2.76 ERA, 29 strikeouts and seven walks in 28 innings.

“It’s quite a journey,” says Lannoo, 23. “I haven’t gotten to look back on it much. I keep prepping for what’s next.

“Everyday I need to do something above and beyond to get me to the next level.”

Lannoo does all the off-field things he needs to hone his craft and then goes onto the field with the idea of having fun.

“The actual work comes in weight room, eating right and in the bullpen,” says Lannoo. “You can’t worry too much about what happens in the game.”

He also puts an emphasis on mental toughness.

“The mental game really helps when I’m in a jam,” says Lannoo, who has studied how other pro athletes, including Tom Brady, have prepared themselves. “It helps me slow things down and take it one pitch at a time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed.”

“It’s that next pitch mentality. My college coaches really helped develop that in me.”

As far as developing his pitches, Lannoo is trying to strike a balance between his four-seam fastball, slider and change-up

“I’m working on throwing my off-speed pitches for strikes early in the count,” says Lannoo. “It’s about pitch mix and not being predictable. If you fall into patterns here, you get punished for it.”

And he’s always learning. During long bus rides or quiet time in the morning before he heads to the ballpark, Lannoo can often be found reading.

“It’s fun to learn stuff,” says Lannoo. “I read books and expand what I know.”

Lannoo was born in Muncie and moved with his parents to Terre Haute after his elementary school years.

Before the move, Michael Lannoo was a professor in the IU School of Medicine-Muncie on the Ball State University campus.

Peter played travel baseball with Muncie-based Indiana Longhorns then Babe Ruth baseball before spending the summers after his junior and senior years of high school with Terre Haute American Legion Post 346.

His head coach at Terre Haute South Vigo was Kyle Kraemer — a mentor he maintains contact with to this day.

“He was a great coach,” says Lannoo of Kraemer. “He taught me how to win. We had some really good seasons under him. We were (Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference) champions my senior year.

“He was really competitive. He brings out the best in his players.”

While at Cornell, Lannoo pitched in the summer for the Victor (N.Y.) RailRiders of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in 2015 and North Adams (Mass.) Steeple Cats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League in 2016.

Peter Lannoo, a graduate of Terre Haute South Vigo High School and Cornell University, is in his second season in the San Francisco Giants organization. (Augusta GreenJackets Photo)